Description

Mid 19th century. 2-storey, 6-bay, mirrored pair of double pile houses, each of 3 bays with door at centre and outer bays advanced to give U-plan, slightly splayed to centre corresponding with angled rear elevation. Stugged ashlar walls with droved and painted details, stugged and painted dressings and quoins, droved at arrises. Coursed rubble rear elevation with stugged dressings. Base course, band course over ground floor lintels, cill course at 1st floor, cornice at eaves. Architraved window surrounds with projecting cills.

SE (MAIN STREET) ELEVATION: near-symmetrical, outer bays advanced and pedimented, bipartite rectangular window projecting at ground floor to outer right, corniced with crenellated parapet. Ashlar entrance porches in re-entrant angles, square columns with capitals and bases supporting full entablature, corniced parapet above with pilasters at corners.

SW ELEVATION: single bay, advanced and pedimented at centre, matching outer left bay of Main Street elevation. Corner set back to right, curved to meet Main Street elevation. Eaves cornice terminated around corner to left.

NW (REAR) ELEVATION: 7-bay elevation, grouped 3-4, with angle advanced at centre. Irregularly fenestrated bays to left, single storey over basement rendered wing with attic, projecting at bay to outer left, piended roof flanked by stone dormer breaking eaves and wallhead stack. Right hand bays, narrow windows to inner bays, door at ground floor between, with partially louvered brick and timber porch.

12-pane timber sash and case windows, 8-pane to narrow rear windows. Glazed infill with border glazing to sides of porches. Timber 4-panel door at Drumfin, panelled inner door with 12-pane upper with bevelled glass, both with rectangular fanlight over. 2-leaf timber door at former manse, etched glass inner door, both with rectangular fanlights over. Grey slate M-roof, piended to rear wing and porch. Square section cast-iron downpipe with hopper and decorative brackets at centre of principal front, circular elsewhere with decorative urn hopper at S corner. Variety of ashlar corniced stacks, 4-flue centring building at main ridges, 3-flue at N end, single and 2-flue wallhead stacks at rear elevation, 2-flue stacks to SW elevation at apex of pediment and at wallhead of curved bay to right with curved shaft and surviving original floreate can, circular and octagonal cans elsewhere.

INTERIORS: not seen 1995.

BOUNDARY WALLS: squared and stugged rubble walls to street, enclosing entrance steps and coped with modern railings at former manse and original railings surviving at Drumfin with spear finials. Corniced gatepiers to left of SW elevation, right pier integral with corner of building, metal gates. Random rubble wall with semicircular cope around sloping garden to rear.

Statement of Interest

Built as manses of the English speaking and Gaelic speaking (now Heritage Centre) Free Churches circa 1845. These are houses of good quality construction with many traditional external details and finishes surviving, including an original floreate chimneycan at the W stack which complements the Regency flavour of the design.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17772684

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)